MLB breaks ground for baseball academy in Roselawn

You could sense the satisfaction radiating off of Joe Morgan as he spoke about one of the main reasons he returned to Cincinnati.

The renderings for an urban youth academy formed a backdrop as we asked about the significance of such an endeavor.

"Well, first of all, it tells the kids and everyone here that we care about 'em", said the Reds Hall of Fame legend.

His current title with the organization is Director of Diversity and Strategic Initiatives. He took the initiative a generation ago when he approached Commissioner Bud Selig about the academies he saw in other countries.

"I want us to have the same opportunity, that is what I told him," Morgan recalled. "It took a while, but he listened and he understood what I was talking about."

Morgan said when the first one in this country opened in Compton, he was there and was ecstatic, just as he was today for the groundbreaking in Roselawn Park.

It will become a haven for 800 kids between the ages of six and 18.

They will receive free, year-round baseball and softball instruction and educational programs.

Miranda Ladanyi is already a beneficiary, having been awarded a $20,000 scholarship by Major League Baseball.

She'll take her pitching skills from the sandlots of Ludlow, Ky. to Spalding College in Louisville this fall.

"The fact that they're doing this for the younger kids is great," she said. "It's going to allow them the opportunity to play ... not in the back yard by themselves, they'll get to go out and have batting cages, a field to practice on."

Heavy hitters from the Reds, P&G, the city and Major League Baseball came together today to mark the start of renovating four outdoor fields at Roselawn Park.

There will also be a facility with a new indoor field, batting cages and pitching tunnels.

Trent West couldn't help but beam as he looked on. He's the head baseball coach for the Purcell Marian Cavaliers.

"You know, I grew up right down the street here in Roselawn," said West. "So, it's great to have something like this in my backyard."

In recent decades, inner-city youth have abandoned baseball's backyard in favor of the fast-paced flash of basketball dunks and end zone antics.

Baseball wasn't on their athletic radar as much as it once was with previous generations.

"In their minds, it wasn't as exciting," said Steve Reece who was one of the city's top pitchers as a youth. "There wasn't as many scholarships available. We didn't have a driving force like this will be. More scouts will be in town, looking at players and watching young people develop."

America's pastime is out to win back its youth.

Reds CEO Bob Castellini alluded to baseball being part of Cincinnati's DNA.

Mayor Mark Mallory spoke eloquently about the sport's ability to unite people in ways other things cannot.

Onetime player Darrell Miller witnessed the breaking of ground, representing Major League Baseball.

The P&G Cincinnati MLB Urban Youth Academy will be the first in the Midwest.

The indoor field will be ready in 2015. Construction partners McGraw/Kokosing and MSA Architects plan to have the outdoor fields set to go next March.

P&G made a $2 million commitment last October. Commissioner Selig announced in January that Major League Baseball is committing $1.5 million.

"To have it here, the home of baseball, is like that's where it should be, you know?" said Castellini.

Morgan understood perfectly. Even though he has been all over the place since the glory years of the Big Red Machine, this is where his heart continues to beat.

He said as much today from the podium and later in front of our camera.

"It's more than just baseball. We're going to teach these kids responsibility," Morgan said.

There will be youth without much guidance now who will have Morgan or someone Morgan-like mentoring them in the not-too-distant future.

"It's more important to know that it's not only just sports, but it's also going to be about education," Morgan said.

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